Menzies has little time for Madness as he focuses on recruiting

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, March 21, 2017 | 2 a.m.

In a month when so much office productivity is lost to March Madness, Marvin Menzies has no problem staying focused on the job at hand.

Millions of people may have been glued to their televisions during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but Menzies wasn’t among them. After making it to the dance in five of his last six seasons at New Mexico State (and the last four in a row), he couldn’t bring himself to watch more than a few minutes of game action over the opening rounds.

Instead, Menzies is choosing to spend his March working.

“It’s been tough to watch it,” Menzies said. “I’m used to playing in some type of postseason. I’ve watched a couple of games only because I’ve had friends coaching. The majority of my focus is on recruiting, not just for next year but the years to come.”

That’s what UNLV fans want to hear. After finishing 11-21 in a difficult first season under Menzies, the key for the Rebels this spring and summer will be raising the overall talent level of the roster, and the only way to do that is via the recruiting trail.

Since the end of the season, Menzies and his staff have been trying to decipher the recruiting landscape. They’ve assessed the needs of the current roster and identified certain players who could fill those needs, and now the task is to persuade those players to come to UNLV.

Part of the incoming recruiting class is already known. High school prospects Mbacke Diong and Tervell Beck will bring talent upgrades at center and small forward, respectively, while juco wing Anthony Smith brings athleticism and prep guard Jay Green adds depth to the backcourt. What’s still unknown is how many open scholarships the Rebels will have this offseason, as no transfers have been announced as of yet.

Menzies knows what type of players he wants to add, however. To address short-term needs for the 2017-18 team, he wants to bring in wing scorers and outside shooters to boost the offense, and more “talented size” and length to fit his defensive scheme.

“We’re looking for guys that can shoot the ball,” Menzies said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a guard, it could be a forward — just anyone who can put the ball in the basket. Obviously that was a major blemish for us this year, so we’ve got to make sure we address that. And then there are some things we want to do on defense from a full-court standpoint, so we need athletes with intelligence who understand how to utilize different defensive schemes.”

Considering Menzies’ late start in recruiting — many 2017 prospects were already committed or close to it when Menzies was hired at UNLV last April — the Rebels may not be able to fill those holes immediately via the high school ranks. Aside from big man Brandon McCoy, there just aren’t many impact talents left in the 2017 class. But Menzies thinks he can find experienced scorers and shooters on the transfer market, and he’ll leave scholarships open into the summer to maintain roster flexibility.

“There are guys we’ve already targeted,” Menzies said. “Juco guys we’ve targeted and potential transfer situations and guys potentially asking for releases. We know their abilities but can’t do anything to contact them, so we’re waiting to see if they leave. We will keep a couple spots open for those players.”

Menzies is also making progress on long-term goals. The Rebels are in early on fast-rising 2018 guard Bryce Hamilton, they’ve offered 2019 big men Onyeka Okongwu and Isaiah Mobley, and they’re courting 2020 prospects Che Evans and Justin Lewis, just to name a few. All of those players are coveted talents and would represent big recruiting victories for UNLV.

While Menzies likes the team he has now, he knows he’s going to have to continue adding talent in the coming years in order to reshape the Rebels back into an NCAA Tournament contender.

“We like what we have coming back in terms of guys we know are returning,” Menzies said. “And then when you look at the incoming kids, I think we have a nice base going into next season. Then looking at the 2018, 2019, 2020 classes and getting in front of those guys and developing relationships with them, I think we are making progress there. I like where we’re at.”

Until that plan comes together, Menzies will pass on filling out a bracket.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.